


shattered into ash

by the_eighth_sin



Category: The Following
Genre: Coda: S1E3, Infidelity, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-10
Updated: 2013-11-10
Packaged: 2018-01-01 02:07:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1039055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_eighth_sin/pseuds/the_eighth_sin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Joe’s hands are gentle when they curl around his hips and he pulls Ryan closer, legs spreading enough that Ryan can step between them. There’s soft pressure on his hips and he leans closer, hands coming to rest on the cushion beside Joe’s head. The first kiss is slow, the hint of tongue against Ryan’s lip enough to make him shudder despite the heat. There’s sweat gathering at the base of his spine and when Joe sighs into his mouth and presses harder at his hips, Ryan leans closer and kisses him properly."</p><p>Or, that time in 2003 when Ryan went to visit Joe and instead of leaving after one drink, he stays and they have sex on the hearthrug</p>
            </blockquote>





	shattered into ash

Ryan’s skin is burning and he can’t tell if its from the fire or the scotch or the way Joe is watching him from over the lip of his tumbler. He licks his lips, takes a swig of scotch for courage and stands. Joe is grinning, cheeks dimpling up and teeth glinting in the soft light of the hearth as Ryan takes measured steps towards the chair he’s reclining in. He doesn’t say anything, but the tilt of his head and the appraising look he gave Ryan when he peeled off his jacket a few minutes ago gives him courage. Everything feels soft, hazy like that time Ryan shared a joint with Ty and there is a fire in his belly. 

Joe’s hands are gentle when they curl around his hips and he pulls Ryan closer, legs spreading enough that Ryan can step between them. There’s soft pressure on his hips and he leans closer, hands coming to rest on the cushion beside Joe’s head. The first kiss is slow, the hint of tongue against Ryan’s lip enough to make him shudder despite the heat. There’s sweat gathering at the base of his spine and when Joe sighs into his mouth and presses harder at his hips Ryan leans closer and kisses him properly, stepping back after a second and marvelling slightly at the way Joe uses his grip on Ryan’s waistband and the muscles of his stomach and thighs to pull himself upright. They trade kisses with the heat of the fire pressing sharp against the left of Ryan’s face and Joe leans into it like a sunflower. 

They sink to the carpet slowly, and Ryan thought about this but he didn’t think it would be quite like _this_ , the soft press of lips and Joe’s big hands sliding along Ryan’s waist, catching on his badge and throwing it to one side. In hindsight, that was probably a hint, foreshadowing maybe, that literary device Joe is so enamoured with. He’s more careful with Ryan’s shirt buttons and for a second Joe pulls away and swallows down the thought about Mrs. Carroll finding a stray button underneath the chair, maybe picking it up and tucking it into her pocket in case she finds the shirt it came from later, whether it would ever dawn on her that it didn’t come from Joe’s shirts, or that it was torn free because her husband was undressing another man. Ryan pulls gently at Joe’s loosened tie and lets him wriggle away with a nip to his lower lip to undress himself. 

They end up on the rug before the fire, and to this day Ryan remembers the way the fibres felt against his skin and the way he could feel the hairs on his arms shrinking away from the heat of the flames. Joe kept shifting them closer, until it was burning and Ryan still thinks its odd. Fire was a tool Joe never used. At that point though, the press of Joe all along his chest, hands tucked between them to pull at their cocks, wiped out everything else. He pants, mouth open against Joe’s jaw, sweat pricking all along his body until their skin slides together. Joe’s glowing in the light, staring down at Ryan with that look, like he could see right through to your soul, is sifting through your every desire, your every fear and finding you wanting maybe, or incomplete. The only thing he says though, is “Open your eyes”, murmurs it against Ryan’s mouth. It makes sense now, that Joe wanted him to keep looking.

Ryan comes like that, with Joe pressed against him and staring into him, pleasure spreading outwards to where his fingers are clenched on Joe’s upper arms, nails digging harshly into the thin skin there. That’s what tips Joe over the edge too, Ryan’s sure of it, sure he needed the bite and the sting and the way it made him hiss through his teeth. They lay together with only the soundtrack of the fire and the clink of melting ice in their glasses until Joe’s phone rings. It’s Claire and Joe’s pulling on his boxer shorts and sinking back into his chair even as reality rushes back in and Ryan realises, with a sinking feeling, that he just had sex with a married man, in the house he and his wife live in. He scrambles into his clothes and waves a hasty goodbye to Joe, who stays relaxed in the chair in just a pair of dark briefs, come drying on his stomach. Ryan’s so shocked at himself that he forgets about the way Joe threw his badge, that it’s stuck between the cushions of the sofa.

Claire brings it to him at the hospital, when he’s delirious with painkillers. But he sees the way she shrinks away from loud noises and jumps when he says her name and she presses the badge into his hand with a whispered thank you. 

Ryan’s still not sure whether he deserved it.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Bastille's 'Things We Lost In The Fire'. It seemed fitting. I wrote this after I watched the episode The Poet's Fire.
> 
> Feel free to comment, kudos and tell your friends!


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